About Me - Bubble and Flute

Hi. I'm Marnie

Chief Champagne Fan & Coach

And I really, really, really
love champagne

When I first fell in love with champagne more than 15 years ago there wasn’t much information online about champagne.

And what was available, mostly came in a very heavy book that was all written for wine professionals or serious wine connoisseurs, not for someone like me – who really loved champagne and just wanted to know more.

So I read all the books about champagne, I went to masterclasses and champagne dinners, I listened to the experts, I visited Champagne, talked to champagne makers, and tasted and re-tasted champagne.

And then armed with everything I’d learned along the way, I started Bubble & Flute, to re-write the book on learning about champagne for everyone else like me.

I don't have any fancy wine qualifications

So if you’re looking for someone who will grade champagnes out of 100 and share clever but complex tasting notes… you are in the WRONG place!

I could no sooner “grade” champagnes than I could rate my friends, family or lover out of ten. (OK… maybe I have been known to rate lovers out of ten…. but you get my drift.)

And as for tasting notes, I’ve seen them make most ordinary champagne fans feel totally inadequate when they can’t detect “the butterscotch, brioche, wood smoke, and caramel popcorn” or “the fresh-cut grass, sweet and earthy under the high-noon sun.”

I’m happy to admit, I don’t smell or taste all those flavours in champagne! I get it… for serious wine gurus and a very exclusive group of incredibly talented people those tasting notes matter.

There are lots of people with fancy wine qualifications who are very talented and built their reputations on marking wines out of ten and writing complex, lengthy tasting notes. I have learnt a lot from and enjoy reading reviews from Tyson Stelzer and Peter Liem if you did want that kind of thing.

BUT my style is very different. Less of a critical review and more of a personal recommendation based on my own extensive experience trying a LOT of champagne and my experience hosting tastings with hundreds of champagne fans over the years. I am much more likely to match the champagne to a mood or a music style, an occasion or a season, a budget or even a celebrity!

I’ve compared champagnes to my past relationships (short-lived), Audrey Hepburn (classy as hell!), Jack Johnson (chilled out beach tunes), The Hilltop Hoods (in your face summer music festival vibe), Idris Elba (sexy as F$%^), or Adele (rolling in the deep). I’ve shared posts based on my mum and dad’s reactions to a new champagne or using the words of the clever and talented people who actually make the champagne – because who could possibly know the wines better?